


Secret Santa

by hollisvee



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Christmas Presents, F/M, Fluff, Jughead Jones Has a Crush on Betty Cooper, Secret Santa, Snow, White Christmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:47:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28267881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollisvee/pseuds/hollisvee
Summary: When Veronica is in charge of Secret Santa, she rigs it in an attempt to get Betty and Jughead together.
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Secret Santa

Veronica had finally convinced her friends to do Secret Santa!

She drew a card for everyone and gave it to them a week before Christmas Day, supposedly 'anonymously.' (Not really, Veronica couldn't help it.) With how much Betty and Jughead gave each other heart eyes, Veronica couldn't take it, she had to get them together. 

So when Jughead came up to her and held out his hand for a notecard with a name, Veronica took a split second to peep the name and made sure she had pulled a card that Betty had filled out. Jughead took the card gave her a sarcastic smile, not sure what to do if he got someone like Kevin.

What could he get Kevin? Or Cheryl? Or Toni? Backing himself into the corner of the couch beside Betty, he unfolds his notecard in Veronica's living room, hiding it from everyone. The card was decorated by Veronica herself, with little Christmas trees and reindeer doodles. And in the middle, was _Betty Cooper_ in cursive.

Jughead sighs in relief, at least he got someone he knew well. For a split-second, he's really confident in who he has, then, the panic sets in. 

Oh god, I have to give a gift to Betty.

Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, but lately, he and Betty had been spending way more time together, and he had developed a now, problematic crush on her. "Who'd you get?" She asks with slight sarcasm, leaning over to him and he elbows her. "Get away, you're not supposed to know. It's called _Secret_ Santa."

"What's the spending limit?" Cheryl obnoxiously and loudly asks after looking at her card, glancing around at everyone. "25-30 Dollars, take it, or leave it." Veronica sets, checking everyone for approval and they all seem alright with it. Except for Cheryl, who has a small eye roll and a huff. 

"Alright! Fun! We'll all exchange gifts at Archie's place on Christmas Day!" Veronica cheerfully announces, clapping her hands together and looking at Jughead.

Jughead catches this glance and scrunches his face. Why was she looking at him? He wished she'd stop.

The rest of the week was a challenge, everyone wanted to get their gifts set up early. With Riverdale being a small town, with a shortage of stores and fancy things to get, it was hard to find even the basics, like wrapping paper and bows. And to add to the challenge of finding a perfect gift, heavy snow was expected to set in the night before Christmas Eve.

Betty had gotten Veronica for Secret Santa, and didn't know what to get her. Nothing she could get her best friend would amount to the expense and great friendship Veronica was used to. So a few days she had, and with small flurries of snow that didn't stick to the ground, Betty was a woman on a mission.

But so was everyone else, who were trying to avoid each other in Downtown Riverdale.

Wrapped in a white turtleneck sweater and jeans with a coat on top and her hair up in its typical ponytail, Betty tries to avoid slipping on ice, while speeding through.

As she waits to cross the street of the old buildings and small roads, with window-shops all down each side, she sees Jughead wrapped in a leather serpent Jacket, rushing into a coffee shop on the same side as her.

Quickly hurrying before he can see her, she races across the road at the red light, finding herself in a small boutique.

"Good evening, Betty!" The owner says, greeting the local girl who smiles wide. "Hello, Mrs. Reid." Betty shyly walks up to the counter after wiping her wet boots at the welcome mat. "Christmas Shopping?" Mrs. Reid asks and Betty perks up. "Yeah, for Veronica."

"Well Miss Cooper, I'd say you're out of luck here, we're almost out of everything. However, I could hook you up with some of the prettiest earrings we have left." Mrs. Reid suggests, and Betty sighs in relief. "Yes! Thank you, that'd be just perfect."

Veronica loved local stores, and handmade, she liked things to be authentic, so ordering from Amazon wasn't exactly an option for Betty. Mrs. Reid returns from the back of the store with two small white boxes. Betty opens the first one to look at the small fake diamonds, then the next, which are small pearls attached to a gold hoop, decorating it with only 3 on each hoop.

"How much are these?" Betty asks, pulling aside the pearls. "$15 and they're yours." Mrs. Reid smiles and Betty grabs her small handbag, digging into it for her money before dropping $16 on the counter. "I'll take them."

Mrs. Reid puts the pearls back into the small white box and pushes it across the counter. "Hope she likes them!" She says and Betty is beaming. "She'll love them."

Walking out of the store with success, Betty now has one more thing to get as she heads up to a beauty store that was about a block away. With Jughead nowhere in sight, she hurries anyway, tucking the bag beneath her coat as to avoid getting snow on it.

Snowflakes melted the second they rested on the ground, and fell in Betty's hair, making little pieces of the ends of her hair curl up again.

Jughead knows it's her the second he sees the beige coat making its way down the sidewalk, he can see the blonde ponytail bouncing as she cuts off into a beauty store after a little while.

So that means Betty either has Cheryl or Veronica because no one is stupid enough to buy Toni makeup that she wouldn't want.

He chuckles at the sight of it, before turning off to continue the hunt for her gift. He was heading up to a bookstore, he wanted to get her something meaningful, something she'd like. But the book wouldn't cover the whole gift, he was, of course, going to add something.

Eventually, nightfall came, and the roads cleared out, and he saw Betty walking down the road again. How was she not freezing to death? Pulling his beanie down as the flurries became thinner, he crosses the street to her, hiding her gift in a bag.

"Betty!" He calls and she turns, eyes widening. "Oh, hey!"

"You shouldn't be out here by yourself this late, you know how this town has been like lately," Jughead warns. "C'mon, I'll walk you home." He offers and she smiles.

"I wouldn't mind the company." She smirks, and he laughs. "At least you're not driving. Betty driving in these conditions? A car wreck waiting to happen." Jughead teases and she squints. "I said you could walk me home, not bully me."

The two walk off, making their way to Betty's house as the snow began to fall less and less until it was just drizzling rain.

A week passed, and everyone had their gifts ready as they all went to sleep Christmas Eve, and spent Christmas Day with their families.

Betty woke up worried about how her friends were going to get to Archie's, Jughead was driving a motorcycle from the Southside, which she deemed dangerous, and Toni probably had the same idea. Veronica had a driver, and as did Cheryl, but there were still icy roads and so much snow, she worried about Kevin as well, driving on his own.

Luckily, she was Archie's neighbor, so the only trouble she'd have to go through was shuffling through the snow to his icy driveway without falling. She still wasn't sure if she could even manage that.

She'd spent all of last night wrapping her present to Veronica, putting it all in one large cardboard box where she'd stored a box with perfumes and body washes she had got on sale and the pearl earrings. Using some plaid wrapping paper and placing a red bow on top, tagging it from anonymous.

Then the next morning she left her hair down, leaving in natural waves as she put on a (required) ugly Christmas sweater and a white skirt with tights beneath.

As normal she opened her Christmas presents at home, and before she went, her mother had decided to be kind that morning and had baked fresh gingerbread cookies for Betty to take. "Here, give these to Fred Andrews and wish him a Merry Christmas from the Coopers." Her mother had sweetly said, and Betty had awkwardly taken the tray with a 'thanks, mom.'

Making her way down the steep stairs of her house with a gift box and a plate covered in foil for the cookies, she struggled to balance, shivering as she walked down the pavement.

Behind her, she heard a car door shut and an engine cut off once she was at The Andrew's driveway, and a chuckle. "Oh, it's like watching a baby deer learn to walk." Veronica's voice calls and Jugheads laugh following as their footsteps came closer.

And of course, the inevitable happened, and Betty slipped. Preparing to fall butt-first on the ground she squeaks as someone catches her by the waist, pulling her back onto her toes. "Saw that one coming." Jugheads voice is in her ear when she turns her head and she blushes. "Sorry, I don't have the best coordination."

More people arrive behind them as Jughead helps Betty up onto the dry steps, where Archie opens the door for them. "Did you see Betty almost wipe out on your driveway a second ago?" Veronica asks with a giggle, leaning up to kiss Archie's cheek. "Fortunately yes, maybe her Secret Santa should get her a life alert necklace." Archie teases as Betty pushes past him. "I hate you all." She mumbles.

"She'll get over it." Veronica smiles as Toni and Cheryl cling to Kevin, who is basically dragging them up the driveway.

"Here you go, Mr. Andrews." Betty greets, setting down the platter of Gingerbread cookies. "My mom told me to tell you, Merry Christmas from the Coopers, which is stupid to say, so, Merry Christmas, Mr. Andrews!" Betty cheerfully announces and he chuckles at the blonde.

"Thank you, Betty, you can set your gift on the table in the living room," Fred says, and she walks to set her gift down beside everyone else's as they all settle down around the coffee table.

Betty sits beside Jughead on the couch, his knees laying over hers as she occasionally smooths her skirt, while Archie sits on the other end beside Veronica.

Cheryl sits in the big chair in the corner, Toni sitting half on her lap, and a half in the crevice of the chair while Kevin sits at their feet by the table.

"Okay, how about... Cheryl, you pick first." Kevin says excitedly and she reaches forward to pick the present labeled for her and immediately tears it open with the help of Toni. Opening the box beneath the paper, Cheryl pulls out a container with red nail polishes, along with a new red lipstick, both on the more pricy side. "Oh my gosh! Who was mine?" She asks, looking around before her eyes find her feet, where Kevin is smirking. "Kev! Thank you!" She giggles happily, an unusual sight for Jughead.

Then, Kevin picks out his gift, taking it from the table. He quickly opens it, throwing wrapping paper with a small smirk as he smiles happily at the sight of his gift. A pair of Nike Sweatpants. "Yes! Who had me?" He asks, and Toni raises a hand shyly. 

"Okay, Toni, go!" Veronica enthusiastically encourages, handing Toni her gift. Inside of the bag, a black leather top, tight-fitting and long-sleeved. Toni laughs in surprise. "Okay, I thought whoever my person was would mess up incredibly, but this is perfect."

"It was me!" Veronica chirps loudly, and Toni nods. "Thank you, Veronica. You go now." 

Betty is nervous about her gift as Veronica reaches for the gift she had frozen to death buying in Downtown Riverdale, neatly pulling apart the gift as Archie hovers over her, wanting to see it first. Opening the first box, Veronica gasps. "Oh my goodness!" She holds up the pearl earrings for everyone to see, and Cheryl seems to want a pair of her own. Then, she pulls out a perfume box with excitement. "Okay, who had me?"

"Me!" Betty excitedly says, and Jughead laughs as Veronica ferociously hugs Betty. "I love it, B!"

It's now Betty's turn, as she reaches and opens a medium-sized box, pulling off the wrapping paper slowly to open the box. On top of the colored paper, is two tickets to the Twilight Drive-In, a book with the title 'Beloved' and a note, which she chooses to hide and not read aloud. Her smile isn't big, but her face blushes, and her smile is shy, as her eyes find Jughead.

"You guessed it." He barely says aloud, and Betty leans over to give a big hug, a not-very-Betty move to show affection in front of all of their friends, laughing as she hugs him tight. "Thank you so much!" She exclaims now.

Jughead reaches for his gift, which is poorly wrapped but the sentiment is there. Betty leans over to see it when he opens it and he chuckles. "Thanks, Secret Santa!" He calls, holding up a $30 Pops Gift card, causing Betty to snort.

"You're welcome!" Archie happily and proudly yells back.

And finally, Archie opens his gift, a gift card for his Xbox, which he is overly happy about, and Cheryl admits she was his Secret Santa.

Betty pushes the note into her pocket, and walks to the front porch like Jughead's note says, standing against the railing. Moments later, he walks out after her, and she stands straight up again. "That was really sweet," Betty says, fumbling her hands nervously as she stands in front of the fresh snow beginning to fall.

Jughead steps closer to her, her nose a pink color, so close he can smell the perfume she wore on Christmas, so close, he thought he'd melt as his ears got hot. "Yeah, well, I guess I got lucky this year for Secret Santa."

"And I do mean it, Betty, I really, really like you." For once, he's shy, and her eyes are soft as she can tell he's serious. She's something out of a dream right now, breathtaking with her hair down, vivid. "Then kiss me." She smiles, and he doesn't hesitate, leaning his head down as one of his hands cups her cheek, lips meeting her soft and glossy ones.

He doesn't care if their friends see, he wanted to be done chasing Betty Cooper.

He wanted her to be his, and he wanted to be hers.

And a week later, they sat in the Twilight Drive-in in the back of his dad's truck, her head on his shoulder.


End file.
